Considering the cast, there was no way I wasn't going to watch the first episode. I'm in for sure. I thought it was a solid (if not a bit slow) extended episode, but it suddenly got very interesting in the last 20 minutes or so (after the hammer came out).

Although they aren't directly involved, it has the Coen Brothers' fingerprints all over it. I love it! They've completely distilled the atmosphere and scenery from the movie into a different story/cast of characters. Pretty easily my favorite thing on TV in a really crowded field of good/decent shows happening right now, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I tried watching the first episode last night when FX was playing all previously aired episodes in succession. Couldn't get through 10 minutes of it though.

I had "Back to the Future" douchechills with the initial Lester/Hess meeting (note for note McFly and Biff), but I'm glad I stuck with it. Like the guys mention above, when the hammer comes out, the whole story gets turned on it's head and sets a tone that anything can happen in this black comedy serial, just as you would expect from the Coen's.

Thorton really seems to relish his chance at playing his own version of Chigurh in this.

I'm diggin the show but I sometimes hate how orchestrated everything feels.. the characters lack all forms of common sense but that's just how the fargo universe works I guess. Overall I love all the characters and how unpredictable the story has been.

Malvo's last scene in the snowstorm ranked up with the best/recent True Detective stuff. They almost bled out all colors with the exception of red in that.

Absolutely agree. Phenomenal scene. The episode as a whole contained such a wide range of emotions I've never really experienced an hour of television like that.

I've read some people complaining about the raining fish scene and not understanding or calling it lame but it totally played into this whole biblical fanaticism the stavros character is all wrapped up in. And if you're not willing to suspend your disbelief this far into the series what are you still doing here. I do understand it was probably the most absurd thing to happen so far but this show is a requiem for the absurd.

A somewhat subdued episode for the most part but still a fine episode. Lester fucked Kate Walsh in the butt, lucky sunofabitch. No matter what happens to him from here on out it will have been worth it.

but yea I feel like it was probably at-least 2 episodes too long.

Last edited by Mastodonkey on Fri Jun 20, 2014 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

It had to be subdued after the episode they just went through! A table-setter was necessary.

Yeah, that Hess wife sure is hot. I kind of think that Lester might end up being okay at the end of this because whoever ends up getting close to that million dollars of extortion money ends up getting fucked over and he hasn't had any involvement in of that yet. It's almost as if Malvo has imbued his touch of chaos/evil onto Lester and Malvo is going to end up biting it attempting to reclaim his extortion (probably from Tom Hanks' kid, who HAS to end up having a heroic moment in this now).

Yea, but I figure he'll find out from Mr.Numbers (deaf hitman) or somebody that Lester told them his name and thus is why they came after him and very nearly killed him in that white-out.

Stavros was absent last week, so we still don't know what if anything is going on with the money. After that fish incident I would just go back and get it, say fuck god, fuck everything, and leave town.

And yea Colin Hanks' character has been such a dumb timid pussy up to this point it's gonna take something truly heroic to turn him around.

What a scumbag Lester has turned into...I wouldn't be surprised if the Stravos arc is over with, but they'll probably shoe-horn at least a scene to show what's happened to him. Obviously, Malvo moved onto greener pastures(?). Didn't seem like $100K payday would have been worth the six months of pretending to be dentist and all the work/study that would have been involved in that, for him at least.

The storylines with Molly/Gus, the two numbnuts in Fargo and Mr. Numbers will need to be resolved though. A whole lot to tie up in the finale.

What a scumbag Lester has turned into...I wouldn't be surprised if the Stravos arc is over with, but they'll probably shoe-horn at least a scene to show what's happened to him. Obviously, Malvo moved onto greener pastures(?). Didn't seem like $100K payday would have been worth the six months of pretending to be dentist and all the work/study that would have been involved in that, for him at least.

The storylines with Molly/Gus, the two numbnuts in Fargo and Mr. Numbers will need to be resolved though. A whole lot to tie up in the finale.

Malvo clearly enjoys his work. The payday may have been relatively small, but I could see him being okay with it if he was enjoying the con.

This past episode and the close of the prior one really drove home the "deal with the devil" relationship between Malvo and Lester. Lester's been reaping the benefits all season of what Malvo did, and now the devil's come to collect. And in many ways Lester's become as much of a scumbag as Malvo. Really looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.

Finale tonight. I hope the ending isn't too similar to the film or it might be slightly disappointing. I'd like to see the Malvo/Lester characters have their own unique gruesome fate which doesn't mean I'm completely against a wood chipper scene but still.

[spoilers]I dug the finale overall but still didn't feel it was quite as rewarding as I wanted it to be. Gus got his redemption but it didn't sit completely right with me. I wanted Malvo to go down in a more badass fashion than getting shot up by a coward while he was unarmed.

I give the show an 8/10 overall. It entertained the fuck out of me for 10 weeks so I'm happy with it.

The show ran out of steam and started really making no sense about 3 episodes left. When the deputy gets shot by Colin Hanks, that was the end of the good times. She's up and interviewing people early in the next episode so basically that was pointless. The Fargo massacre was when I lost faith. The plot really started to make no sense after that.

well the entire plot of the show was a joke from the start with a million different holes in it but thats sort of what they were going for in their own fucked up way. Him shooting Molly basically just cemented that he's a coward and not fit to be a cop.

I didn't think the last few episodes or "second act" was anymore nonsensical than anything else we've previously seen in the Coen's universe. In fact, the arcs that Lester and Malvo took in the second act RULED imo. Stuff like Gus landing right in front of Malvo's abode in Minnesota and Lester randomly running into Malvo in the same lounge in Vegas is just part of the established Coen Bros. surreal universe.

I'd like to have seen Malvo go out in a better way, but I sort of predicted it. Lester's exit was admittedly pretty cool too, but I would have preferred him making his way into Canada and having to live some closeted, sniveling, guilt-ridden life. And he could have tied into a second season, which I guess FX is intending to do. The program won at least two Critics Choice Awards for Best Series and Best Actor (Thorton). I don't think there is any doubt that FX keeps this around for at least another season.

Based upon this, I'm going to give 'Tyrant' a try, which starts up on Tuesday.